SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 5, 1996--Chips and Technologies, Inc. (Chips) today announced that its HiQVideo(tm) Graphics Accelerators and HiQVideo Media Drivers will support the features of Microsoft's(r) Direct3D(tm).

Recently announced by Microsoft, Direct3D is an extension of the DirectX(tm) family of application programming interfaces (APIs) that provides software developers with a direct interface to hardware.

"Chips and Technologies has played an important role in delivering high quality graphics and video to Windows users in the notebook environment," said Brad Chase, general manager, Internet platform and tools division, Microsoft Corporation. "We are pleased that Chips is expanding their support for DirectX and mobile computing technologies by adding support for Direct3D."

Microsoft's Direct3D extends DirectX technology's multimedia capabilities to include 3D graphics. Its tight integration with DirectDraw(tm) as its buffer management system allows DirectDraw surfaces to be used both as 3D rendering targets and as source texture maps. Typical applications will include hardware decompressed motion video mapping and 3D rendering in 2D planes.

"We have been working closely with Microsoft to improve graphics and video performance in notebook computing," said Cecelia Town, product marketing manager at Chips and Technologies, Inc. "By adding support for Direct3D, Chips is now extending graphics and video capabilities for the notebook to new dimensions."

About HiQVideo

Chips' HiQVideo series of 64-bit accelerators combine video acceleration with a high-performance graphics engine to deliver full screen video at 30 frames/sec (fps). The accelerators bring to the notebook user all fundamental capabilities needed to run Windows 95-based multimedia presentation and video conferencing applications.

Chips and Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHPS) is a leading supplier of highly integrated semiconductor and software solutions which provide graphics, video and other capabilities to portable and desktop computers. -0-

Note to Editors: HiQVideo is a trademark of Chips and Technologies, Inc. Microsoft is a registered trademark and DirectX, Direct3D, and DirectDraw are trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation.

CONTACT: Chips and Technologies, Inc.

Cecelia Town, 408/434-0600

or

MQPR (Agency Contact)

Matthew Quint, 510/651-9744

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